I show you my books, you show me yours... vol.18

Jana & Steph are bringing us book lovin' bloggers our favorite day of the month again - Show Us Your Books day! 

What I've read since our last link-up:

1.  Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs - Severe levels of dysfunction wrapped in a supposedly humorous memoir. Nope. Not the book for me.  I'd have to share spoilers to explain what has disturbed me so much, so if you'd like to chat about it, we can do that via email. 1/5

2.  The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt - The pace of this book is so smooth even with multiple murders, disease, animal deaths, and loneliness.  I'm finding it difficult to articulate why I enjoyed the story so much, but I did.  4/5

3.  Not Without My Sister by Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones, and Juliana Buhring - I strongly believe that using religion to brainwash, manipulate, and abuse children is the most disgusting crime that exists.  I'm infuriated that groups like this have ever existed and still do.  4/5

4.  Still Missing by Chevy Stevens - Solid mystery/thriller with twists and turns and the right degree of fucked-up-ness.  My first to read from this author, and it won't be my last. 4/5

5.  Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai - The story of a Vietnamese refugee family that moves to Alabama during the Vietnam war told through the eyes of a 10 year old girl.  Poignant and emotional, this was a Newberry Award for children's literature, deservedly so. 4.5/5 6.  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - Heartbreak, art, family, love, tragedy, self-discovery, and a little whimsy too.  Some parts of the story, I predicted; others, I didn't...but I enjoyed the ride.  I had high expectations, and this book exceeded them. 5/5 7.  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - I'm just not meant to read "classics".  The end.  P.S. Children's literature is the exception. Currently reading:  In the Woods by Tana French Reminder:  Link-up this Thursday to let us know how you did with the Read My Books challenge.  Feel free to link up if you succeeded, rocked the challenge, failed miserably, intended to read a book from home but didn't.  Just as long as the post has something to do with your reading habits.  There are TWO chances to win $50 Amazon gift cards, so stop by Thursday, and take your chance for a win. Thoughts on any of these books?

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.81

Hair did, so I go to the public bathroom and take selfies. 

What is this?  Chocolate pancakes, brandied cherries, chocolate sauce, and I feel no guilt. 

We went to a "Winter Festival" with ice skating and other winter activities. 

Ice skating wasn't exactly Liam's favorite activity...but Chels was a good sport. 

He was a fan of the sledding though. 

And, I was a fan of the cheese kransky. 

Sometimes the husband and I take a nice pic, and sometimes Chels adds a creepy photobomb. Haha!

A weekend of family & love was exactly what I needed this weekend. I hope you are surrounded by love too. 

My heart hurts

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. ...
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I do hope I got that quote correct.  I looked at a number of sources (some telling where MLK's words were mixed with another's facebook post and wrongly attributed to him.) 

It's really all I can say right now. 

Let your loved ones know that you love them and that are special people in your lives.

The Royal We: A Slice of Brie Book Club

(I've already mentioned this on the blog before, but you get to hear about it again, just more in depth): 
This isn't my "typical" go-to book.  I just don't often pick up "chick lit" as my first (second, or third, or fourth...) option.  Don't know why.  Just don't.  That's probably for another post.  But... I do like to read and pay attention to what other book lovers are reading and saying about books.  Of the people that read this book, I'm not sure I saw a bad word said about it.  I like to step out of my "norm" or my comfort zone and grab something different (for me), so I went to my local library page to add this to my reserve list.

Wait...what's that?  Sydney libraries don't have this book?  What?  Aren't we, like, part of the English Commonwealth and have all kinds of love for The Royals?? 

So, Kristen, my fellow expat, but opposite (I'm an American in Australia; she's an Australian in America) unexpectedly saved the day, and sent me the book when I complained about it not being at the library.  How good are unexpected gifts??

See it on Instagram & follow me too!

Then, it sat on my bookshelf for a month or so.  Megan announced her Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge categories, and I thought "Hey! The Royal We!  That's 'punny'!"

Then, I continued to read my usual psycho killer/thriller/dark/ugly books.  I needed a break.  The Royal We was that perfect break. 

Is this a "perfect" book?  No.  Did I give it a five-star rating anyway?  Yes.  Call it perfect timing, but I needed something a little fun & frivolous, light-but-not-too-light of a story with endearing characters.  That was this book.  I laughed.  I cried.  Yes, I shed tears.  Real tears during the ups and downs of this relationship.  And, the book is about friendships, family relationships, and more.  I'd shake my head at the ridiculousness of some of it and feel other parts tug at the ol' heartstrings. Overall, it was pure delight.

If "chick lit" or love stories are your type of read, you need to read this book.

If you want to step out of your comfort zone, like I did, I recommend this book as well.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Linking..... with Kristen and Gretchen:

What's new with me???  Well, I'm participating for the first time in A Slice of Brie's Book Club.  I've never participated in a book "club" before...oh wait, I did once before, but anyway...I can't promise I'll always participate, but I've found another book lovin' blogger to follow along in her book lovin' posts.

Confess Sesh: Expat Edition

I confess that I enjoy the "confessions" posts and link-up, but was getting a little burned out, so when Nadine & Kathy changed this to a monthly link-up, I supported that decision.

I confess that a wintery July is still something weird to me; I've been in Australia for 7 1/2 years, but opposite seasons are still odd.

I confess that I still don't accurately know how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit.  That's what a smartphone is for.  I told my husband about this post, he tried to explain it to me, and this was my face:

Same goes for anything to do with the metric system.

I confess that I now call that space where I urinate or defecate the "toilet" (instead of the "restroom" or "bathroom").

Same goes for "rubbish" (instead of the American alternative as "trash"). 

I confess that I still don't understand Australian politics...something else the husband tries to educate me on...again, Brit Brit helps me out by showing my face when he tries to explain:

I confess that I still don't like to be called a "Yank".  This term does not accurately refer to all Americans.

I confess that I still think it's funny when people ask if I'm Canadian.  (I promise, I do not sound like I'm from anywhere close to Canada.) 

In all fairness...I confess that before I moved here, I couldn't tell much of a difference between Australian, British, and Kiwi accents.  (There's a big difference.)

I confess that I enjoy Australians' use of curse words...like, they aren't offended by curse words...and they don't think someone is "unladylike" because she curses.  Fuck yeah.

I confess that the bureaucracy of immigration stresses me out to no end.

I confess that I will pay $3 for a can of Dr Pepper because sometimes I really, really want a Dr Pepper.

I confess that I still get "sticker shock" over the cost of some things...like, $18 for a margarita.

I confess that I still love playing tourist and tour guide in this city (and should do it more often.)

I confess that I still believe Sydney, Australia is one of the most amazing cities in the world, I am blessed to call it my second home, and if you ever get an opportunity to visit, you should do it!

(Oh, hey, Chris Hemsworth, he's an Aussie, it's like this widget was made for this post!)

Wednesday link-up with Nadine & Kathy 

Fall Film Challenge 2016

My friend, jenn, hosts a fall film challenge each year.  This is the third installment, I've participated in all of them, but never finished watching all my movies.  What can I say?  I'm a book challenge girl. 

I have this little list of 50 Movies that I want to see before I'm 50, and this challenge helps encourage me to knock some off that list. 

If you are a movie buff and want to join us, head over to the fall film challenge facebook group.  There are prizes to be won!

Here's how I've done in previous challenges:
Fall Film Challenge 2014
Fall Film Challenge 2015

Drumroll, please....... my list for 2016:

one. about adolescence. - The Perks of Being a Wallflower; I've read the book, so, yea, I want to see the movie.

two. about a character's rebirth or rite of passage - Trainwreck; Amy Schumer is hilarious, and I've wanted to see this since its release.

three. about a comic book character. - X-Men Origins: Wolverine; this was a difficult category because my stepkid loves these movies, and I've seen a lot of them in recent years.  I realized that I've seen the other Wolverine movie, but I hadn't seen this one.

four. shot or set in washington, d.c. - Burn After Reading; with an uber-talented cast and the Coen brothers at the helm, this one interested me.

five. set in an academic environment - A Beautiful Mind; this one's on my 50 Movies list

six. about failure. - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; I picked this for a previous challenge and didn't get to it.  Maybe this time, I'll finally watch this classic.

seven. about a man vs. god or gods. - Apocalypto; the husband recorded this awhile ago...I guess I'll finally watch it with him.

eight. about a man vs. himself. - Candy; an Australian made movie with Heath Ledger as a heroin addict; should be rather poignant.

nine. about an invention or an ingenuous individual. - Amadeus; another on my 50 Movies list

ten. set in a jail or prison. - Stoic; I've never heard of it before, it has poor ratings, but it still grabs my attention.  Might as well see what Edward Furlong is up to.

eleven. about a dog. - Red Dog; another Australian film; this should be good to watch as a family.

twelve. about loss. - About Time; jenn, the host, recommended it to me, and it's from the makers of Love Actually.

thirteen. about man vs. man. - Cinderella Man; I've only heard good things about this movie, so I'll finally get around to watching it.

fourteen. about man vs. nature. - The Danish Girl; a love story about a transgender person; that's man vs. nature, right?  Plus, there's supposed to be some incredible acting in this one.

fifteen. one that has a monster or monstrous individual. - Wolf Creek; based loosely on a true story about a serial killer who targeted backpackers in Australia; I'd say that's a "monstrous individual".

sixteen. shot or set in pennsylvania. - Paper Towns; movie adaptation of John Green's book; I don't have high expectations, but I still want to see it.

seventeen. about a character's quest of some kind. - Star Wars: The Force Awakens; I'm not Star Wars crazy, so I haven't seen this yet.  But, I did grow up with the movies...and Han Solo is back

eighteen. about a character who goes from rags to riches. - Shine; on my 50 Movies list; plus, Geoffrey Rush is such a splendid actor.

nineteen. about a man. vs. society. - Creation; another jenn recommendation, and she watches a lot of movies, so, I listen to her.

twenty. originally released in the thirties. - A Farewell to Arms; the Gary Cooper one because that's from the thirties as opposed to the Rock Hudson one.

twenty-one. about undesirable individuals or elements. - Devil's Knot; based on the true story of 3 young boys that were murdered and 3 teens (that were most likely falsely) imprisoned for the crime.  I've seen a couple of documentaries and read a book by the guy that spent almost 20 years on death row for the crime.

twenty-two. about a voyage and return. - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; an Australian classic; the story of two drag and a transsexual and their travels in the Australian Outback.

twenty-three. about wizards or witchcraft. - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; I can't believe I'm going to break.  I've been totally uninterested in HP since its beginning, but the stepkid is getting to the age where he will probably find it interesting; I'll take one for the family/team and watch one.

twenty-four. originally released in the sixties. - The Sound of Music; that's right; I've never seen this movie.  Every time I see that it is on and think I should watch it, it's in the middle (or close to the end), so I don't.  I mean, if I'm going to watch it, I want to watch all of it.  It's about time I do it, huh?

twenty-five. about a yearning or obsession. - Memoirs of a Geisha; I read this in a previous book challenge, enjoyed it, and hear the movie shouldn't disappoint.

Movie viewing doesn't begin until September; you have plenty of time to join and compile your list.  I like lists, so any opportunity to make a list, I jump on it.  This one wasn't easy though.  I had to search and put on my thinkin' cap.

Join us, won't you?  What do you think about this list?

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.80

Does anyone else laugh at their tiny feet when taking a selfie like this?

Book Challenge by Erin 5.0 started this week. 

A group of girlfriends and I go see this DJ whenever he plays. His show travels through the decades of music with fun dance & singalong songs. 

My sweaty dancing selfie

Glorious winter skies

He's got a little mousie that he yanked from the cat tree and carries around like a prized possession. 

In honor of 4th of July, I shall wear my USA flag onesie as much as possible. 

Happy celebratory weekend!